Weird Anime Excel Saga (1999–2001) User Reviews

Now presenting the most insane anime in existence!

[johnnysugar · 9/10 · 21 July 2002]

I bought the first Excel Saga DVD based on the rather humorous description on the back of the package ("Contents may be hazardous to your sanity"). What I discovered was the first five episodes of the most insane, most hilarious, and most enjoyable anime series of all time! A wonderful parody of all things anime and a good number of Western movies, everybody and everything is a satire of something.

This is the story of Excel, the typical over-exuberant, love-sick teenage girl who is employed by Ilpalazzo, the typical enigmatic, white-haired villain and the object of Excel's affection. Together they are the secret ideological organization ACROSS, bent on taking over the world, but starting in the place where global takeovers always do in anime: urban Japan. They are soon joined by Hyatt, the typical overly-feminine, overly-frail, beautiful anime girl, always falling over from some ailment or another.

Other characters include Excel's neighbors (three jobless, lecherous ronin), Nabeshin (the everpresent action hero with a wicked afro), Pedro (a dead immigrant worker who keeps seeing visions of his family), the puuchuu (dangerously cute aliens intent on taking over the galaxy with futon beaters), and Menchi, Excel's dog/emergency food supply.

Excel Saga has a madcap, anarchic energy that is sure to cause vast amounts of head-scratching and laughter, usually at the same time. Multiple viewing is recommended to catch all the gags, especially since on the Reigon 1 DVDs, you can enable a "pop-up video" type of commentary that explains jokes specific to the Japanese dialogue.

Excel Saga is not for everyone, however. Casual anime viewers (i. e., those who aren't die-hard fanboys) won't get many of the jokes, and many people have expressed dismay over Menchi, who is in a constant state of being THIS CLOSE to being eaten by the ever-hungry Excel. In fact, the closing theme (which is one of the funniest parts of the series), features Menchi singing a mournful ballad in dog speak (translated by a woman in the corner), begging Excel not to eat him even as she sprinkles spices on him.

However, if you don't mind being subjected to what may be the funniest anime series of all time, I STRONGLY recommend that you watch this show!

"Excel Saga" is a hilarious and insane-o anime that is more-or-less a parody and satire of the various genres of anime... Not to be missed!

[TedStixonAKAMaximumMadness · 9/10 · 29 April 2012]

First and foremost, I feel I should make it clear that in no way am I a huge anime fanatic. I've seen some of the classic movies (like "Akira" and "Vampire Hunter D") and a few of the more popular shows ("Cowboy Bebop", "GTO", "Hellsing", etc), but my knowledge of the art-form is fairly limited. (Mainly due to the outlandishly excessive prices for anime over here in the US, where a single-disc containing only 2 or 3 episodes can cost $15-$30, so I have to resort to finding good deals on used copies and imports for my small collection)

However, I can and will appreciate a good, thought-out parody when I see one, and I have a love for comedy, so "Excel Saga" was right up my alley!

Based on a popular (and apparently long-running) manga, "Excel Saga" follows the secret, evil ideological organization "Across", headed by the leader Il Palazzo. Their plans- to conquer "F City", the urban metropolis they are based around and have HQ set up beneath. Under Il Palazzo's command is his chief officer (and series heroine/villain) Excel, a hyper-kinetic young woman with idolized/pines for Palazzo, and mindlessly follows his plans. Excel is an absolute blast, and a great character to follow. She's the ultimate "cartoon", and is alternating manic, ecstatic, heartbroken, kinetic, hyper, etc many times within each episode. Her character is so delightfully insane that her American voice actress actually blew out her voice and had to be replaced halfway through the series due to the demanding role.

Other characters include Hyatt, a space-princess who becomes Excel's fellow agent and suffers the irritating condition of constantly becoming sick and dying only to immediately come back to life. Menchi, a sad little dog Excel owns who also doubles as her emergency food rations. Watanabe, Iwata, and the silent Sumiyoshi... Excel's next-door neighbors. Pedro, a man who is killed in the first episode and becomes the subject of a subplot as his ghost seeks to re-unite with his wife and child. And many other wacky, strange characters.

Animation and writing is top notch. Think "Airplane!" or "Blazing Saddles", but as an anime and you will get the tone of the series. Very wacky and crazy and very much a parody. Each episode, for the most part, tackles a different sub-genre of anime/animation, and satirizes the conventions of said sub-genre.

I have not heard the original Japanese audio tracks, but the American dub is excellent all around. Especially Jessica Calvello and Larissa Wolcott, who voice Excel. (Calvello voices her in Episodes 1-13, Wolcott in episodes 14-26.) Both have an insane, manic energy and drive and playfulness that suits the cartoony Excel perfectly. All other voice actors are outstanding as well, by Calvello and Wolcott shine as the stand-out performances. (Although to nit-pick, I will say I prefer Calvello's performance slightly more, simply because she established the character in the beginning, making the change to Wolcott jarring, despite their similar voices.)

It's also fun to mention that this series is in the ranks of other pieces of fiction like "A Clockwork Orange" in that we are essentially following the series villain (in this case Excel) as our protagonist, and we sympathize and like her a lot. It's just an interesting moral point I find amusing to point out- we're rooting for the bad guy, but she's so funny and adorable, we forgive her for basically being evil.

All-in-all, this is an uproariously funny series, and is darned-near flawless as a comedy. However, this series does lose a point for the final episodes. Without spoiling anything, I will say the series takes a dark, dramatic and out-of-left field turn into a more somber and even at times heart-wrenching final six episodes, and it was jarring and arguably unneeded.

But all-in-all, "Excel Saga" is an excellent and hysterical anime series! I give it a near-perfect 9 out of 10, and guarantee it will make you laugh. Check it out!

Funny anime, but they never really explained Hyatt's sickly condition...

[Aaron1375 · 8/10 · 10 May 2016]

I got this one because I had heard that it was insane like another Japanese anime FLCL. Suffice to say it was pretty insane, but it never had the energy and insanity that one did for its entire run. However, this one did last like 26 episodes while that one only lasted seven or eight so I can forgive them for not being able to deliver great episodes throughout the show. Basically, it hit highs and a few lows as each episode generally had a theme to it such as a horror theme, dating theme, a survival theme and even a sex theme! The show introduced crazy characters and crazy situations for the most part, though the last three or so episodes were a bit more coherent than most of the show, but then they spring on one last episode called, Taking it too Far where they go completely insane to the point it is kind of dirty and very perverted. There was nudity and a lot of innuendo going on in that episode and it kind of ended the show on a what the heck type deal. Almost wish they had not done that one as it really is just too strange and does not really fit into the rest of the series, but then it kind of does too.

They story has a young and super energetic girl named Excel joining an organization called, ACROSS whose goal is to conquer the city they are in. Unfortunately, as enthusiastic as she is and full of energy she just has trouble completing her missions. She is also short on cash, but that is okay, she finds a dog she names Menchi that she keeps on hand to serve as her emergency food supply. She soon teams up with a very sickly woman named Hyatt who also joins ACROSS and soon they are both having trouble with missions. Though Excel takes a lot of blame for the failed missions, there is more than one instance where Hyatt dies in the middle of a mission and this kind of throws things off. Meanwhile, next door three roommates also struggle, but soon get government jobs where a man with a mustache vows to protect the city no matter the cost. You also have a sexy redhead and two androids joining the mix as ACROSS soon makes its final push to take over not only the city, but the world!

The show has great characters, though my favorite episodes featured the three roommates and the craziness they get involved in thanks to their boss who wishes to protect the city. I liked the one roommate who seemed to be the leader falling in love with Hyatt as they always played that same innocent little theme. There are a couple of episodes that are like review episodes that are completely unnecessary and are one of the reasons that this one does not stack up against other anime shows I have seen. Then there is the character of Pedro, the migrant worker who really has a tough go of it. His side story just gets stranger and stranger as it goes along!

So, overall, I have to say it is a pretty good anime. Not epic like a more serious anime, and not quite as funny as say a FLCL, but still it has its charms. Take out the two review episodes and maybe that last episode and it would be even better. Or, maybe have more episodes like the last episode, still haven't made my mind up about the insanity that ensued in that one. Still, after all those episodes, no explanation as to why the heck Hyatt was so sickly. It just seemed to be setting up something for her that never materialized, but nothing came of it.

Demented, silly, over-the-top. A "Weird Anime" indeed!

[Miwa Satoshi · 3 May 2001]

After watching Dragon Half, Elf Princess Rane, and Kodomo no Omocha, one would think the Japanese couldn't possibly produce something crazier than those series. Excel Saga not only proved me wrong, but proved just how completely inadequate words can be when you're trying to describe an animated feature.

From the opening credits (a rather odd spoof of Japanese pop videos that includes the two main characters lipsynching to the opening song while in strange backdrops (like men's communal baths) to the ending song, where Menchi the dog sings (with a human interpreter in a little square in the corner) while various condiments are sprinkled over her, this series lampoons just about anything and everything.

While it's not always coherent, it's energetic and funny, and there's nothing like watching a series that tries to off its own creator (in this case the original comic writer) at least twice an episode. (And the main character dies at least twice as often as that!) If maybe not quite as creative as FLCL, it certainly pulls everything off a lot cleaner.

Excel Saga is an anime beyond words ... a "Weird Anime" indeed.

I love it!!!!!

[Fangor · 10/10 · 1 October 2003]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! I love it!!!!! Satire for the anime freak. And as comedy in a broader aspect, it Rocks! I love the characters, especially Nabeshin(Whats your hobby? The afro...) and Illpalazzo(evil overlord with a good intent!). They all crack me up! And I never get tiered of them. But for safety reasons i only watch 1 episode a day, otherwist I suspect my brain would melt from the Crasy wierdness that is EXCEL SAGA. Puchuuu?..

Have now watched all 26 ep. And I have to say that the only bad thing about this anime is that it ended. The music is chatchy, and the characters realy grew on me, I love them *^_^*. I raised the points for animation as I realised for the style and form it is trying to put thru, its just excelent...(pun) Average 10(10)

Flawless

[calon929 · 10/10 · 6 May 2007]

This is one that keeps finding its way into my media player despite how long ago I first viewed it. It is Family Guy for anime and jpop culture. If you are savvy on that from the early 70's to present you will enjoy plenty of easter eggs, plus its scategorical humor and slapstick which rivals the Stooges and Urusei Yatsura. The voice actors and characters are well developed to with good animation The writers looked like they were on the ropes about 10 episodes into the series but its a ropeadope! They come out swinging and landing them. I tried listening to the dub once and will be burned at the stake before I try that again. The English speaking actress can not pull it off. It doesn't stop to explain itself and takes constant shots at its creators,its genre,fans, and everything in general. I dig it! Stupid fun for the whole family. Highly recommended.

Insanely hilarious

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 29 April 2009]

Excel Saga is one of the most insane shows it has been my pleasure to see, from the first episode to the last it is almost constantly funny. If you like anime or even if you don't this is worth watching, while it spoofs a lot of other shows it isn't necessary to have seen them to enjoy this.

On leaving school our heroine Excel joins the ACROSS organisation where she helps her beloved Lord Ilpalazzo in his mission to take over the city. Unfortunately for her he isn't interested in her and unfortunately for him she is incompetent. She is however very enthusiastic always trying her best. Excel is assisted on her missions by Hyatt, a princess from outer space who is constantly coughing up blood and dies with alarming regularity. The two of them live together with their dog which is their emergency food supply. Their attempts to take over the city are countered by the Department of City Security who are equally incompetent and live in the neighbouring apartment. To add to the strangeness we have the tale of Pedro, a dead migrant worker who returns to win back the heart of his "sexy wife" with the help of Nabeshin, the director of the show who sports an impressive afro and the Great Will of the Macrocosm, a character that seems to be the embodiment of the universe.

If that all sounds very strange that is because it is... in a good way. The animation is all pretty good and the voice actors did a great job, especially the woman who provided Excel's voice. If you see this on DVD I'd strongly recommended getting it although it doesn't appear to be available on R2 PAL at the moment, much to my disappointment.

These comments are based on watching the programme in Japanese with English subtitles.

Inspired

[J-bot6 · 8/10 · 27 September 2021]

A neat idea having the freedom to set a theme for each episode and then fit the characters to the theme. I also enjoy the cameos from the director and the inclusion of "The will of the Universe" character that steps in to right things when they go horribly sideways. The brainstorming sessions for the writers of this show must have been pretty epic. I also like that they allowed the editors to comment on how tough it is to do season finale recap episodes (very true!)

Of all the characters, I'd say Hyatt is my favorite. Despite her weak alien immune system, she still tries really hard to do a good job.

The animation style is good, despite the obvious corners that were cut here and there (mainly for crowd scenes) in order to keep the budget under control.

I watched the English dubbed version and was initially critical of the American voice actors. But I soon realized that the style they were using actually fits the zany sense of humor of the material on screen. That and the voice actor doing Excel's voice really went for it; she certainly worked for her money. Bravo!

Fun show and worth a watch if you're a fan of pop culture.

Amazing

[ercnk · 9/10 · 31 August 2014]

The jokes in this are extremely funny. You can really name it. The director of the anime and the author of the manga are featured in just about every episode doing the most ridiculous things you can think of. Every episode carries an "experimental" theme they try out, from sports to horror, which greatly helps to keep things fresh.

And the writing was so intelligent, this movie was not just for kids. There were a lot of clever jokes that kids might not get. Still, the warm and fuzzy qualities of so many of the monsters make this a perfect choice for kids as well as adults

http://www.mangatrend.com/

This is Awesome...!!!

[lerkim · 10/10 · 18 August 2008]

I normally don't like all that Japanese humor, I mean I love animes and what not, but I like them more serious, with that said I loved this series so much, it is stepping insanity but does it with a humor not seen that much in Japanese animes, maybe it resembles a little but this series is nothing like any other. I normally have a hard time laughing at such jokes yet Rikudou Koushi have made this series to one of my favorite, you see all kinda of types, you probably have seen a lot like them before but not quite as weird as these. Excel who is madly crazy in love with her Lord Ilpalazzo who doesn't really care at all, Excel also have a tendency to die easily, she is a hard worker and always working, but she isn't really that good at anything, Hyatt who has a habit of dying also, she is the junior officer of the Across, her personality is weirdly enough, Lord Ilpalazzo who is the leader of Across who wants to take over the world in order to restore things. The three neighbours next to Excel who are always complaining, the fat one doesn't talk with sounds making it more weird, Rikdo Koshi is my favorite not really prior to the story yet the manga artist of Excel Saga who always appears somewhere in the series, in the first episode it is actually Excel's job to kill him, but by doing so she kills herself, really cool, there are many more but these catches me the most. Overall this is a story no one should miss, it is so overall sickened and cool, just hope that your insanity is enough to withstand this anime shocker it is all worth everything to pick this little piece up, I promise you even how you laugh or what you laugh at you wont be able to not laugh just one big time in this series, it is irresistible.

I Koshi Rikdo hereby give my permission to make the Excel Saga into a B movie action flick……………Wanna watch it???

One of the most annoying shows I've ever watched.

[bazmitch23 · 1/10 · 11 August 2015]

When I have the main character SCREAMING and SCREAMING and SCREAMING and SCREAMING, my head is about to explode!

Every line of dialogue she says is just her SCREAMING and SCREAMING and SCREAMING!

I only saw two episodes of this show and I didn't want to watch anymore because of her.

I watched the first episode in the English dub and that was annoying, then I watched the second episode in Japanese with subtitles and that was just as annoying.

If the makers of this show wanted to annoy me (and others), they have succeeded.

I put Excel on my "Most annoying characters list". There should be a ban on characters who scream a lot altogether.

THE Anime to riff all of the T.A.T shows!

[Angel_Meiru · 27 May 2004]

And what I mean by T.A.T is Typical Anime Trash (you know, the repetitive clichéd crap), and Excel Saga pounds all of those titles in to the ground. And probably the best parody/satire show I have seen, even better than IMO South Park (Which SP can be good at times, a lot of times can be annoying too).

Excel works for Illpalazzo of Across, an organization based on taking over the world. She may be a loser, but at least she "tries" to do her job. And with her new partner from outer space, the constantly vomiting and coughing Hyatt, she ain't giving up. Meanwhile 3 roommates get a job with a secretive government agency, a Brazilian construction worker is forced to be the love slave to the embodiment of the universe, which is (yes, it is true!) a vortex with slender womanly arms(!) and a man with an afro gets into so much trouble for reasons unknown. And I just only scratched the surface of the series.

The only downside of this series is that it ended in 2000. But luckily, there still is the Manga that is still being published to this day, I think.

But if you are tired of the Typical Anime Trash shows, Excel Saga is one to check out. The parodies and satires in the show are PRICELESS!

Urgh get rid of Excel please!

[Irishchatter · 1/10 · 23 August 2018]

I honestly can't stand her, she is one of the worst characters in anime that I cannot stand. I don't know why people find this "loveable" at all, it's just a headache you really don't need, especially when you're having a bad day!

The reason I got to watch this in the first place is because there were so many positive reviews here on this and I decided to give it a go. Man worst decision I've ever made!

Honestly this anime infuriated me, I wish I could give it a 0/10 rating!

Perfect comedy, great story, cool characters.

[Rirath_com · 22 June 2003]

Right from the start this series sets itself into a league of it's own. The intro music is every bit as catchy as the show itself. Excel's uber-cute look in the first few minutes is so dang... well, cute! And the constant switching between normal and super deformed characters is a hilarious staple of insane comedy anime.

The jokes in this show are just plain outrageously funny. You name it, they've done it. The director of the anime and the author of the manga are featured in just about every episode doing the most ridiculous things you can think of. Every episode carries an "experimental" theme they try out, from sports to horror, which greatly helps to keep things fresh.

What really keeps this series going for 26 episodes isn't just the over the top insane humor, it's the wonderful characters and story that keeps you watching and wanting to know what happens next. I particularly love the ending episodes where things get serious and wrap up well. It's one of them series where once you finish it, it will seem like you've known it forever.

• Rirath_com

Oh wow...

[scarlet478 · 12 May 2004]

There are some things out there that are beyond belief, reason, and most of all, sanity. Excel Saga is one of these things. The continuous stream of visual/verbal gags, inside jokes that are also funny from the outside, and such wonderful and irreplaceable characters such as Ilpalazzo, Nabeshin, and (most of all) the Puchuus make Excel Saga one very interesting trip.

There is so much to laugh about in this series, and so much of it is so nonsensical that it makes sense. I watch and I watch, and though I know what's going on, does anyone *really* know what's going on in the series? Hrm...but it doesn't matter. It's all about the jokes and giggles, not some answer to the Deep Philosophical Question of Life. Go watch Eva or something if you want that.

However, Excel Saga is still smart and funny, which is much more preferable than brainless funny anime like DiGi Charat. I firmly believe that watching DiGi Charat likely kills brain cells.

The only bad thing I have to say about this anime is I did not like the English dub at all. Jessica Calvello wasn't so great as Excel...to put it mildly. What can I say? I'm not a fan of the "nails on chalkboard" effect.

Other than that, watch. Watch Excel Saga.

The humor anime anyone can love--how'd that happen?

[garfnerkopin97 · 14 February 2005]

A friend lent me the first disc to this series...and from the moment I watch the first episode I was hooked. And if you watch it too, so will you.

The series is based on Koshi Rikdo's dark humor satire of the "shadowy world" struggle between government agents and terrorists. Into this mix Shinichi Watanabe threw in anything he could to make the series so over-the-top fall-down-with-sides-hurting-from-laughing-so-hard FUNNY while keeping it from going stale. Struggles with TV Tokyo over broadcasting the series? Throw in gags about those struggles! All those genres of J-Pop TV that are competing with him and his show? Make fun of all of them--a different one for each episode! Add variations on the slapstick routines in it (no scene is ever perfectly repeated) to make the old new again, and you have a funny funny series.

But when it was brought over to America, ADV went the extra light-year (not just mile) to make it even funnier. From the rapid-fire delivery of Jessica Calvello to the moans of Rob Mungle, the voice actors give a new life to the characters that the original voice cast couldn't do.

Also, ADV threw in lots of extras. Vid-Notes help explain the little gags (though some of the explanations only make sense if you watch the subtitles). Six "Menchi" food commercials on Disc 2. The hilarious extended menu dialog of Disc 3. The ridiculous "newspaper" on Disc 5's extras menu--check out the Personals! All in all, this is the funniest anime I've ever seen. --Is that good enough, Lord IlPalazzo? No, please don't pull the---

I Koshi Rikdo Here by give permission to have a review written on Excel Saga!!!

[MARVELMANIAC69 · 27 July 2004]

Excel Saga is one of most funniest anime's I have seen (Thanks to an anime junky called Karl) Although I've only seen 10 episodes and may get more this week this is one of my favourite anime series!

Its just hard to believe that the woman who does the voice for excel hasn't had her head explode yet. Like many anime series there are 26 episodes and is based on the manga series by Koshi Rikdo.

There are so many lovable characters in this show such as Excel, Princess Hiett, Watanabe, Hiwata, Lord El Polatzo, Nabasheen, Space Butler, Key and many many more (Sorry if my spelling is wrong by the way).

Seriously though if your an anime fan and you have yet to have seen this masterpiece in anime, I strongly advice you to pick up the box set on ebay you will not be disappointed.

Adams Rating - 10/10

Hilarious, Wacky, Over the Top, Insane...

[k_mobius1 · 15 December 2005]

A word has yet to be invented to describe this superbly made anime. It being one of the first ones I bought a few days back, it serves as a brilliant start to my collection.

There are many reasons why I like it. It is funny, fast-paced, intentionally controversial and has a good mix of characters and personalities, particularly the highly energetic main character Excel and her love and sheer willingness to serve Ilpalazzo. The storyline is sort of all over the place, but it serves as a good element to further improve the overall craziness and parody. The way various gags and stories string alongside each other simultaneously can also be extremely baffling and confusing at times, but comedy values once again rise closer towards perfection. I recommend that anyone who enjoys either anime or comedy (or ideally both) to take the time to find and/or watch this gem.

Very Weird

[mirza241612 · 17 July 2005]

I have to say this is the weirdest animation I've ever witness from anime world. From the very first episode the world weird comes in five minutes where the character Excel dies about 3 times from the very start of the program. Then again later in the show. It's all about her being an across agency trying to take over the world but her love for Master Iraparatzo is out of control. He doesn't love her obviously. Then a girl comes from outer space called Hyatt who has to have breathing problems because she coughs up blood. Damn. Even more weird is that the show becomes more on nudity at the end of the series 1 and scares me a bit. On the whole it is entertaining and funny but the explicit nature of it is a reason why cartoons are not always for kids.

Excel is Excellent!

[jaclat970 · 3 February 2003]

I really can't tell you how awesome this show is! I have just watched this last week and all I can say is that I'm GLAD I've been watching anime for the last 8 years! Wow! That opening theme was so perfect for the show I'm humming it right now. there's too much going on in the show to describe, but the 2nd episode (parodying the B-grade action movies) is my personal favorite. Too hilarious!

A perfect parody.

[robertheinrich73 · 28 December 2010]

Some reviewers call the Excel Saga the most insane anime ever. Well, I guess they don't know "Fooly Coolly / FLCL" yet, but I understand their point. You don't need to be a huge anime fan to get hooked to this series, but it surely helps, because Excel Saga provides a perfect parody to the whole genre.

There are lots of genre specific insider jokes, but there also is plenty humor which can stand on its own, as well as parodies on well known stereotypes (SF movies, B Action movies, blockbusters like Titanic, classic tales like "in 80 days around the world" and much much more). In addition, Excel Saga uses every opportunity to make fun of itself, too.

The self-parody goes so far that the main character is sent on a mission to assassinate the original author of the manga series in the first episode. Later on, the author, the director and other stuff from behind the scenes will have constant reappearances in the story.

Therefore, for every joke you will not understand, there will be a dozen more you can laugh about.

And it should be made very clear, that while some of the humor is a bit silly and slapstick style, many if not most of the jokes are quite intelligent. If you try to compile a list of funny quotes or dialogues, you will soon notice that you end up with a transcript of 95% of the script (the missing 5% will be jokes which you didn't understand).

This hilarious masterpiece reminds me of Monty Python's works, since it is an ingenious mix of silliness with witty and often pitch black humor.

The optical presentation is also very good. Compared to other animes there are relatively few repetitions in animation and background art. And if they reuse art, they even manage to do this in a funny way (for example in one scene the characters explain that they have to use an old background picture because the responsible artist is unavailable right now, and so on).

I would also like to mention some flaws. First would be the vocal artist who synchronized Excel, the main character of the series, in the English version. Well, it should be honoured that she accomplished a nearly inhuman task (Excel talks so much and so fast, and it should be mentioned that the original artist had to be replaced after the first couple episodes because of an injury of the vocal chords - you will understand this perfectly after having watched one or two episodes), and overall the English dub is really good. But I simply don't like the voice. I think she overdid it quite a bit, and sounded too shrilly and hysterical and annoying. Though it fits the character, I liked the original Japanese voice actor better.

Second there are two episodes which consist mostly of flashbacks and reuse existing material. While this is excused in a humorous way and these episodes still provide some exciting new animations and dialogues, I was a bit disappointed and ended up fast-forwarding most of them.

Despite this, Excel Saga is an absolutely great anime series. I enjoyed every single second of it (except the above mentioned flashback episodes), laughing or chuckling all the time, and I can recommend it to everyone who has a sense of humor - you won't be disappointed.

Ah, one last word about the soundtrack. The title song is a nice spoof on Japanese pop music. Not too outstanding, but nice and funny in a weird way. The sounds and music used during the episodes are generic and inconspicuous and fit in really good. The credits are hilarious, but since they are described quite well in other reviews I would only repeat what others have already said.

By far the strangest (and greatest!) anime ever created.

[SimAKSPAnimeFAN1 · 29 May 2005]

The words "strange" and "weird" are understatements for Excel Saga, the popular anime from ADV films, and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I have only read 2 volumes of the manga and have only seen the first volume of the anime and I am already working on my Excel cosplay outfit, so I guess it's safe to say that "hillarious" and "excellent" are understatements as well.

Excel Saga is essentially about two unpaid teenagers, Excel ("First name Excel, last name Excel or just Excel for short!") and a martian princess named Hyatt, working for a man named Il Palazzo. They all are members of ACROSS, an idealogical organization whose goal is to conquer the city of F. Excel is a hyper air-headed blonde who talks way too much (so much, in fact, that the woman who played her, Jessica Cavello wore out her vocal cords mid-way through Excel Saga and had to be replaced.). She dies at least once an episode (a few times from Il Palazzo killing her for being way too hyper and enthusiastic) and will do anything for Il Palazzo. Hyatt, on the other hand, is almost exactly opposite, except for the dying, and is sometimes too quiet to hear. She came from mars and ended up in ACROSS when the Puuchuu, an adorable alien race's, ship crashed on earth and Hyatt floated down to ACROSS's underground headquarters via massive flood. Unfortunately, she has an unknown condition and is perhaps too delicate. She dies more than Excel (at a rate of at least 4 deaths an episode) and is liked more by Il Palazzo than Excel.

Excel and Hyatt live in an apartment building in room 204 (well, at least I think). Next to them live Watanabe, Iwata, and Sumiyoshi, who can utterly not stand each other. (Well, at least Watanabe can't stand Iwata and Sumiyoshi.)They argue about every little thing from rent, to girls, to how they are supposed to survive for the next month. Thing is Watanabe really really likes Hyatt to the point where he almost kissed he while she lay helpless on the ground out cold.

So, in conclusion Excel Saga's a really really great anime. I would only recommend this to older teens and adults because of constant profanity and sexual situations. otherwise, I give it 5 out of 5 stars. Excellent!

Funny, very funny, if Mel Brooks made an anime, it would look like this.

[au_law2001 · 17 September 2005]

And I mean this is a very funny anime with a lot of parodies and spoofs, with other typical jokes and scenes you'd expect from an anime. The story is as follows: so-called heroine(anti-heroine?)Excel works for some crazy guy who lives in his basement, and looks like a stereotypical villain in anime, and tries to take over the city F City then the rest of the world blah blah blah blah, and keeps failing, and they have another associate the anemic Hyatt who keeps dying, and their neighbors, Watanabe, the poor unfortunate guy with idiotic roommates, and is also in a group trying to defend the City, and Pedro the guy who died and is kept by the Great Will, a universe with womanly arms and voice, who keeps the story in order. Overall a very funny anime series, and like I said if Mel Brooks worked on anime it would look like this, except the only things that are missing are the Jewish jokes, Leslie Nielson, and Mel Brooks himself saying "we have much to do and less time to do it in". Instead we have Nabeshin and Koshi Rikudo taking their roles, with Rikudo saying I hereby give permission to have Excel Saga as... and so on. Expect to see spoofs or at least references to Sailormoon, Dragon Ball Z, Love Hina, Doraemon, Fist of the North Star, Gundam, Titanic, Mickey Mouse, Looney Tunes, American gangster films, Aliens, Star Wars, BioZombie(a Hong Kong spoof of Dawn of the Dead), Lupin III, Di Gi Charat, Golgo 13, etc. I also recommend watching Parallel Trouble Adventure Dual! another spoof/parody, Galaxy Angel, GTO, and Eden's Bowy. They are also funny like this.

Excel Saga is the most bizarre show

[jiggly7 · 6 June 2005]

The show has no actual order… no matter which episode you start in (say you pick up episode #7 first) you will not have missed anything – there is no order to the madness… Every episode seems to begin anew, as a whole separate entity... the only thing that ties each episode together is that the same characters are in just about every episode... a couple of new characters may show up but the main ones are a constant... That being said - Excel Saga is one of the best and most bizarre anime TV shows I have ever seen. Most of it makes absolutely no sense and they never bother to explain it… what is up with the alien bear things? And why does Hyatt up and die all of the time? And Nabeshin? And I wish they would just eat Menchi! But it is great fun to watch… extremely entertaining and funny – and I LOVE the theme song!